The UCLA women’s basketball team has had a season of milestones, and on Sunday the Bruins added another: For the first time, they’re the No. 1 overall seed in the women’s NCAA tournament. The Bruins have reached the 30-win mark for the first time in program history and are hoping to make their first Final Four in the NCAA era, which began for women’s sports in 1981-82.
The Bruins are among the big winners as we look at the women’s March Madness bracket. But what do the committee’s decisions mean for standout players such as USC sophomore JuJu Watkins and UConn senior Paige Bueckers, who met in an epic Elite Eight game last year? And how do things look for defending national champion South Carolina?
The No. 1 seeds were as expected: UCLA is atop the Spokane 1 Regional, South Carolina is No. 1 in the Birmingham 2 Regional, Texas is No. 1 in Birmingham 3 and USC is No. 1 in Spokane 4. The top seeds are split between the Big Ten and the SEC, and both conferences were winners Sunday. The Big Ten has 12 teams in the field — four in the top 16 — and…